Walking on Sunshine by Luann McLane

“What?”
    â€œTry this on for size.” Mattie lifted her chin and then lost her nerve.
    â€œI’m waiting.”
    â€œI like you. What do you think about that?”
    â€œWell . . .” Garret looked at her for a moment as if no one had ever said that to him.
    â€œCat got your tongue?”
    â€œI never did understand that phrase. Do cats really get one’s tongue?”
    Mattie laughed. “I hope not, but if they did it would prevent speaking.”
    â€œTrue enough.”
    â€œI do like you.” Mattie thought about all the crazy stories she’d read about him and wondered how many of them were fabricated or not even remotely true. “Has anybody ever said that to you before?”
    â€œOf course, but in truth I haven’t been all that likable, I’m afraid.”
    â€œWell, you are, so there.”
    â€œHas anyone ever told you you’re pretty?” he countered.
    â€œNo,” Mattie said because she thought she could tell this man, this so-called celebrity, anything. “I mean, my parents and granny, but they don’t count.”
    â€œFirst of all, they do count. But no boy has ever said that to you?”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œWell, then, they are all . . .” He lifted one hand as if searching for the right word.
    â€œDumb asses?”
    â€œYes, as opposed to the very cool Jamule.”
    Mattie leaned against the butter-soft leather and looked over at Garret. “So, are we gonna do this?”
    â€œMake each other over?”
    Mattie nodded. “You make me into a hot chick and I turn you into an English redneck hybrid that will drive the local girls wild?”
    â€œYes, a new breed of . . . something never seen before around these parts. I like it.” He gave her a nod. “All right, then. I’m in if you’re in.”
    Mattie pushed up from the sofa and went over to shake his hand. “Deal.” She gave him a firm handshake the way her daddy taught her.
    â€œSo, when do the joint classes begin?”
    â€œI think the sooner the better, don’t you agree?”
    â€œAbsolutely.” Garret nodded. “I think the first thingwe need to do is shop. I need boots and you need heels. It’s always best to look the part.”
    â€œAgreed.”
    â€œYou have a passport, right?”
    â€œA . . . passport?” Mattie felt her eyes widen. “Um, yes, I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my parents last year and I had to get a passport. Why?”
    â€œYou never know. We might want to pay my mum a visit sometime.” Garret grinned. “As you said she’s a famous fashion model, so we might just want to get her input.”
    â€œYou mean . . . go to
London
, and I don’t mean London, Kentucky? You’re joking, right?”
    â€œThere’s a London, Kentucky?”
    â€œYes, and a Paris too.” While her parents had taken family vacations, they’d visited places like Daytona Beach and Disney World. Other than the cruise to the Bahamas, she’d never been out of the country. She’d dreamed of visiting Europe but never thought it could really happen. In fact, she found the thought exciting but also intimidating.
    â€œI did mean London, England. Don’t look so stunned, love. It was only an offhand suggestion for a possible future excursion. We could Skype or something instead.”
    â€œI guess that hopping on a plane and heading to London is normal for you.” She pointed to her chest. “For me? Not so much. Wait, not at all.”
    â€œSome might say that there’s nothing normal about me.” Garret chuckled but then shrugged. “I haven’t made the effort to visit my mum enough lately,” he said with a bit of a sad tone. “I need to change that.”
    â€œI know what you mean. I miss my parents too.”
    â€œI put my poor mum through hell with